THE OVERALL retail industry in India is worth $410 billion, with the organised sector accounting for $18 billion.
THE ORGANISED FOOD retailing industry in the country is $3 billion.
INDIA ACCOUNTS for 1.6 per cent of international food trade.
ORGANISED FOOD retailing is expected to attract investments of over $18 billion in the next three years, which prompts further improvement in supply chain and overall exports.
THE GOVERNMENT is working on agri zones along with the concept of food parks.
EACH FOOD PARK requires $22-34 million in investment and would be based on the public-private partnership model.
More From This Section
NUGGETS Selections from management journals
WHAT OR RATHER WHO contributed to China’s economic miracle? A good deal of research on economic growth focuses on spending in research and development (R&D) with its ability to produce technological change. However, this approach fails to account for the exceptional growth shown by China with scant spending on R&D, and for the lack of growth in countries such as Japan with significant R&D expenditure. New research by SMU Cox entrepreneurship professor Maria Minniti and co-author Moren Lévesque shatters some myths about entrepreneurs, innovation, and the growth of an economy.
In the research, the authors distinguish entrepreneurs as research-based (spending on R&D) or imitators (without R&D spending). Minniti says, “There are two types of entrepreneurs: those that commercialise invention and new markets and those that commercialise products or services that already exist, or imitators. The imitators are very important. They are even more important in countries that are the poorest. In wealthier countries, the contribution to growth by imitators relative to innovators tends to be low.” When returns to R&D spending are low, as in many emerging economies, a high number of imitative entrepreneurs who increase competition and product supply is sufficient to generate economic growth.
Innovation and imitation: How entrepreneurs impact economic growth
Maria Minniti
SMU Cox School of Business
More on the research at http://www.cox.smu.edu/article/research/research.do
IN 2004, FIAT WAS A laughingstock. It seemed that whenever you opened a newspaper in Italy, there was another embarrassing story: Fiat had lost more money; a new car had flopped. The company had gone through four CEOs in three years. Then Sergio Marchionne, an industry outsider, came on board. Today, Fiat’s bottom line is solidly in the black and the automaker’s latest car, the Cinquecento, is the talk of the industry. In this article, Marchionne details how he made four particularly effective improvements.
First, he searched the company for hidden leadership potential — such as people far from headquarters and young talent in marketing and other functions that hadn’t been considered high-potential career paths. Once Marchionne found those potential leaders, he engaged with them in myriad ways — such as through formal performance assessments, informal conversations, and text messages — demonstrating his commitment to them and improving the corporate culture. Second, he set ambitious goals and actively guided managers toward achieving them, in part by challenging long-held assumptions. Third, he pushed the organisation to be less inward-looking, adopting benchmarks from Apple, for instance, and hiring people from outside the car industry. And fourth, he showed respect for Fiat’s employees by making adjustments — such as opening kindergartens and grocery stores near plants — to help them cope with work/life balance.
Fiat’s extreme makeover
By Sergio Marchionne
Harvard Business Review, December 2008
Subscribe to this article at www.hbr.com
TIGHT CREDIT AROUND the world has caused real estate markets to come almost to a halt in rapidly emerging economies like China and India. But many investors are betting that the strong underlying growth in some Asian countries will make today’s real estate prices look like bargains. At a Wharton Asia Business Conference, speakers said that tumultuous markets in the region could translate into superb investing opportunities for those with the cash and fortitude to ride out the ups and downs.
Real estate in Asia:
Great deals exist for investors who stay the course
China Knowledge@Wharton
Read this article at www.knowledgeatwharton.com.cn/